Psychology 348 Week 4

The Paradigm Shift within Community Psychology

The shift that acknowledges that human problems cannot be solved solely through individual treatment

Criticisms of the traditional mental health model

high resource intensity

expert reliance

deterministic neglect

High resource intensity as a criticism of the traditional mental health model

model is expensive, time consuming, and difficult to scale to meet the needs of entire populations

Expert reliance as a criticism of the traditional mental health model

relies too heavily on the specialised expertise of psychological professionals rather than community strengths

Deterministic neglect as a criticism of the traditional mental health model

provides insufficient attention to the socio-economic and political determinants that underpin individual distress and wellbeing

Evolutionary roots of the social ecological theory

originates in Charles Darwin’s studies, which investigated species development as a function of their adaptation to environmental changes

Origins and core focus of social ecological theory

evolutionary roots

person-in-context worldview

socio-historical context

interdependence

Person-in-context worldview

the central focus is the dynamic, bidirectional interaction between the person and the environment

person-in-context worldview expression B = f(P, E)

person-in-context worldview — behaviour is a function of the person and the environment

Trickett and Visser’s argument about socio-historical context

human activity does not develop in a social vacuum, but rather is rigorously situated within a socio-historical and cultural context of meanings and relationships

Interdependence in social ecological theory

individual is linked to multiple environmental dimensions, including physical, social, political, and economic contexts

Kelly’s Four Principles of Social Ecological Models

interdependence

distribution of resources

adaptation

succession

Interdependence (Kelly)

change in one component of a multi-dimensional system inevitably affect other components and the system as a whole

Distribution of resources (Kelly)

mapping and analysing how physical, social, and psychological resources are allocated and utilised within a system to address specific health or social issues

Adaptation (Kelly)

the process by which individuals and systems respond to constraints and changes in available resources. resource loss typically triggers a necessary coping or adaptive response

Succession (Kelly)

recognises that change is constant. a community’s adaptation to new situations is deeply influenced by its history, past experiences, and evolutionary timeline

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

views the environment as a series of nested social structures, described by Germain (1978) as “Chinese boxes” fitting inside one another

The five primary environmental systems

microsystem

mesosystem

exosystem

macrosystem

chronosystem

Microsystem

smallest social system where a person has regular, direct interactions, including the people, relationships, and roles in their immediate environment

Mesosystem

the connections between a person’s microsystems

Important characteristic about the mesosystem

strong, consistent connections promote wellbeing, while conflicting values or rules can harm it

Exosystem

external systems that indirectly influence the individual, even though they have no direct contact with them

Macrosystem

the broader, social, cultural, political, and economic environment that influences the individual and all other systems

Chronosystem

the time dimension of development, including life changes, historical events, and changes in the person’s environment